Bee In A Rush

Photograph of Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) in Flowering Rush (Butomus Umbellatus) flower, taken July 2016, local pond, Staffordshire. © Pete Hillman 2016. Camera used Nikon D3200, with Nikon 70-300mm telephoto zoom lens.

07/16 by Peter Hillman Categories: Animals (Invertebrates), Bees, Insects, Nature Photography, Plants, Wild FlowersTags: Apis mellifera, Butomus umbellatus, Flower, Flowering Rush, Flowers, Honey Bee, Insects, Nature, Nature Photography, Wild Flowers, Wildlife, Wildlife Photography Leave a comment

The Rush And The Darter

I think its wonderful when nature brings together two of its most beautiful creations. Here we have the Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum), and the Flowering Rush (Butomus umbellatus).

07/16 by Peter Hillman Categories: Animals (Invertebrates), Dragonflies, Insects, Nature Photography, Plants, Wild FlowersTags: Butomus umbellatus, Common Darter, Dragonflies, Dragonfly, Flowering Rush, Insects, Nature, Nature Photography, Odonata, Pond, Pond Life, Sympetrum striolatum, Wildlife, Wildlife Photography 2 Comments

Flowering Rush

Butomus umbellatus

A beautiful and elegant aquatic perennial with umbrella-like clusters of pink flowers. Although the long thin, sword-like leaves of this plant resemble a rush or a sedge, and the name of the plant implies this, it is not and is unrelated. It grows up to 80cm tall.

The seeds are made up of tissue which are filled with air. This allows the seeds to become buoyant when they fall from the parent plant so they may float a distance away on the water’s current to germinate.

It flowers July to August. It grows and thrives in the shallows of slow-moving freshwater ponds, ditches and rivers. Locally common only in England and Wales.

07/16 by Peter Hillman Categories: Nature Photography, Plants, Wild FlowersTags: Butomus umbellatus, Flowering Rush, Nature, Nature Photography, Pond, pool, River, Wild Flowers, Wildlife, Wildlife Photography 2 Comments